Farah Thabet

Shock: an unusual presentation of Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a common acute systemic vasculitis of childhood. Although KD has wide spectrum of clinical features, shock is not one of its common presentation form. We describe a 5-month-old female infant with severe shock syndrome requiring fluid resuscitation, inotropic support, and PICU admission. She was diagnosed retrospectively to have KD complicated by coronary artery aneurysms in spite of receiving early course of IV immunoglobulin. Conclusion: Diagnosis of KD could be missed in the pediatric intensive care unit because of its atypical presentation and the wide array of associated clinical symptoms. Subsequently, intensivists and emergency room physicians should maintain a high index of suspicion not to miss it or diagnose it at an advanced stage of the illness.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in children

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a new human disease caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV). The disease is reported mainly in adults. Data in children are scarce. The disease caused by MERS-CoV in children presents with a wide range of clinical manifestations, and it is associated with a lower mortality rate compared with adults. Poor outcome is observed mainly in admitted patients with medical comorbidities. We report a new case of MERS-CoV infection in a 9-month-old child complicated by severe respiratory symptoms, multi-organ dysfunction, and death. We reviewed the literature in an attempt to characterize the mode of presentation, the risk factors, and outcome of MERS-CoV infection in the pediatric population.

Incidence, Risk Factors, and Prognosis of Intra-Abdominal Hypertension in Critically Ill Children: A Prospective Epidemiological Study.

Purpose: To assess the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Methods: Prospective cohort study from January 2011 to January 2013. All children consecutively admitted to the PICU, staying more than 24 hours and requiring bladder catheterization, were included in the study. On admission, demographic data and risk factors for IAH were studied. The intra-abdominal pressure was measured every 6 hours through a bladder catheter until discharge, death, or removal of the catheter. Results: Of the 175 patients, 22 (12.6%) had IAH and 7 (4%) had abdominal compartment syndrome during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay. The independent risk factors associated with IAH were the presence of abdominal distension (odds ratio [OR] 7.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6-19.9; P < .0001) and a plateau pressure of more than 30 cm H2O (OR 6.42; 95% CI, 2.13-19.36; P = .01). The presence of IAH was associated with higher mortality (40.9% vs 15.6%; P = .01) and prolonged ICU stay (19.5 [3-97] vs 8 [1-104] days, OR 1.02; 95% CI, 1.00-1.04; P = .02). Thirty-three (18.8%) patients died in the ICU, and IAH was an independent risk factor for mortality (OR 6.98; 95% CI, 1.75-27.86; P = .006). Conclusion: Intra-abdominal hypertension does occur in about 13% of the critically ill children, albeit less frequently than adult patients, probably related to a better compliance of the abdominal wall. The presence of abdominal distension and a plateau pressure of more than 30 cm H2O was found to be independent predictors of IAH. Children with IAH had higher mortality rate and more prolonged ICU stay.

ANCA-associated diffuse alveolar hemorrhage due to benzylthiouracil

Benzylthiouracil has been recently observed to be associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive vasculitis, resulting in crescentic glomerulonephritis. We report an 8-year-old girl treated with benzylthiouracil for Graves’s disease who developed an ANCA-positive vasculitis with pulmonary hemorrhage. She responded to corticosteroids and discontinuation of benzylthiouracil. This represents the first pediatric case of benzylthiouracil-induced diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy associated with enterovirus infection

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy is a rare, clinically distinct entity of acute encephalopathy triggered by acute febrile diseases, mostly viral infections. It is postulated to arise from uncontrolled cytokine release during a febrile illness, and is most often seen in East Asia. We describe a rare Saudi patient of acute necrotizing encephalopathy attributable to enterovirus in a 4 years and 6 months old girl. A work-up revealed elevations in serum and cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α. The outcome on intravenous pulse methylprednisolone was good. This case is the first, to the best of our knowledge, of acute necrotizing encephalopathy reported from Saudi Arabia with a good outcome despite severe magnetic resonance imaging findings and delay in the steroid treatment.

Les malformations artérioveineuses médullaires chez l’enfant

Resume Les malformations arterioveineuses medullaires sont rares chez l’enfant et peuvent mettre en jeu le pronostic fonctionnel. Observation. – Nous rapportons l’observation d’un enfant âge de dix ans ayant eu des troubles de la marche associes a des fuites urinaires intermittentes depuis six mois. L’examen clinique montrait une paraparesie spastique des membres inferieurs predominante a gauche. L’imagerie par resonance magnetique et l’arteriographie ont permis de porter le diagnostic d’une malformation arterioveineuse intramedullaire. Une embolisation selective des compartiments pathologiques a permis une amelioration de la symptomatologie clinique. Conclusion. – L’interet de l’IRM dans l’exploration des syndromes medullaires est souligne de meme que l’apport de l’embolisation dans le traitement des malformations arterioveineuses medullaires de l’enfant.

Off-Hours Admissions and Mortality in PICU Without 24-Hour Onsite Intensivist Coverage

Objective: To evaluate whether the off-hours admission has any effect on risk-adjusted mortality and length of stay for nonelective patients admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) without 24-hour in-house intensivist coverage. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: A 34-bed tertiary PICU. Patients: All consecutive nonelective patients aged 0 to 14 years admitted from January 2012 to June 2015. Measurements and Main Results: A total of 1254 patients were nonelectively admitted to the PICU. They were categorized according to time of PICU admission as either office hours (07:30 to 16:30 from Sunday to Thursday and whenever an intensivist is present in the ICU) or off-hours (16:30 to 07:30, Friday and Saturday and public holidays). Standardized mortality rates (SMRs) of patients admitted during off-hours were compared to SMRs of patients admitted during office hours using Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM2) score. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the effect of time of admission on outcome after adjustment for severity of illness using the PRISM2. The mortality observed in the office-hours group was 9.4% and in the off-hours group was 8.1%. The PRISM2-based SMR was 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43-1.47) for the office-hours group and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.34-1.36) for the off-hours group. No significant differences in length of ICU stay or duration of mechanical ventilation were observed between patients admitted during off-hours and those admitted during office hours. In the logistic regression model, off-hours admission was not significantly associated with a higher mortality (odds ratio: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.57-1.27; P = .44). Conclusions: The absence of an in-house intensivist during off-hours is not associated with an increase in mortality, length of ICU stay, or duration of mechanical ventilation for patients admitted to our pediatric ICU.

Adherence to surviving sepsis guidelines among pediatric intensivists. A national survey

Objectives: To assess the compliance with the 2006 American College of Critical Care-Pediatric Advanced Life Support (ACCM-PALS) guidelines for sepsis management, and the 2012 surviving sepsis campaign (SSC), for the management of pediatric patients with sepsis and to identify the main barriers to adherence to these guidelines. Methods: In November 2015, a prospective cohort study in which a web based electronic survey using a case scenario to explore the usual management of a child with severe sepsis was designed and sent to all consultant pediatric intensivists practicing in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Adherences to 2012 SSC guidelines and to 4 algorithmic time-specific goals outlined in the ACCM-PALS guidelines were measured. Results: Sixty-one (76%) of 80 consultant pediatric intensivists working in KSA responded to the survey. Of the 61 respondents, 94% reported administering antibiotics within one hour of the child presentation, 98% reported starting resuscitation by giving fluid boluses, 93% reported starting vasopressor if the patient remained hypotensive despite fluid resuscitation, and 86% reported they would start hydrocortisone in case of catecholamine refractory shock. In total, 80% of the intensivists reported full adherence to all of the 4 components in the ACCM-PALS bundle; 50% reported that the absence of a locally written protocol was the main barrier to adherence to the SSC guidelines. Conclusion: Pediatric intensivists reported good adherence to the 2006 ACCM-PALS guidelines and 2012 SSC guidelines with some variability in interpretation of the recommendations. The absence of a written protocol was the main reported barrier to adherence to these guidelines.

Commentary on Pilot Trial of a Novel Two-Step Therapy Protocol Using Nebulized Tranexamic Acid and Recombinant Factor VIIa in Children with Intractable Diffuse Alveolar Haemorrhage

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Utility of daily routine portable chest X-ray in mechanically ventilated patients in the pediatric intensive care unit

The utility of daily routine chest X-rays (CXRs) in mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units is still controversial. The present study compared the diagnostic, therapeutic and outcome efficacy between daily routine and non-routine (clinically indicated) CXRs in children patients in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). A prospective randomized study conducted in tertiary center 18-bed PICU, Riyadh Military Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study selected 52 children, who were mechanically intubated for at least 48 hr. The children were randomized to receive either routine (29 patients) or non-routine (23 patients) CXRs and were followed until extubation or death. Demographic and outcome data were collected and analyzed as appropriate. Although children in the non-routine group received fewer CXRs, the lengths of stay (LOS) in intensive care unit and hospital and mortality rate were nearly the same compared with routine group. The percentage of CXRs with new findings was higher in the non-routine group (83%; 53 CXRs) compared to that in the routine group (69%; 156 CXRs) with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.10 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.60-8.11). Also, the percentage of CXRs with new findings that result in intervention was higher in non-routine group (78% vs. 69%; OR = 1.60; 95% CI = 0.50-5.70). The daily routine CXRs was not associated with a reduced effect on length of stay in PICU and hospital or mortality and it does not seem to add any advantages over non-routine CXRs in PICU. Large multicenter studies are needed to confirm these results.